The present invention relates to a lacrosse stick with improved ball scooping. The game of lacrosse has existed for hundreds of years. The game of lacrosse was originally a game played by native Americans. As the game of lacrosse has evolved, it has become an extremely popular American college sport and is rapidly growing internationally in dozens of countries. Lacrosse has been played on an organized level in United States colleges since the late 1800s. Some college rivalries have lasted over 100 years.
The game of lacrosse is a game of possession. More often than not, the team that possesses the ball more than the other team will prevail. As the game of lacrosse is currently played, at the beginning of the game and after each score, there is a ritual known as a “face-off.” In the face-off, two players have the ball placed between their lacrosse sticks and at the whistle a competition ensues for possession of the ball. In men's lacrosse, the ball is placed on the ground between the two lacrosse sticks. In women's lacrosse, the players are standing with their sticks aloft and the ball is placed between the sticks. During the face-off ritual, it is often the case that one of the two competing players does not, in fact, obtain possession of the ball. Rather, the ball is projected somewhere near or remote from the two competing players. When this occurs, other nearby players compete with one another for possession of the ball.
In looking at a sheet of statistics from a lacrosse game, often the most important statistic is described as “ground balls.” What this statistic means is that when the ball is on the ground, a player from one or the other team is able to pick it up with their lacrosse stick and advance their team's play. The statistic counts the number of times a team has succeeded in picking up ground balls. Ground balls equal possessions. Thus, when a team is more successful in picking up ground balls, that team has more possessions than the other team and is often more likely to prevail.
The first lacrosse sticks were typically made out of wood and had a “crosse” which is the basket-like distal end of the stick that resembled the end of a giant spoon, not even having any netting installed. The preferred material for such sticks was hickory wood. Since the 1970s, the shaft of a lacrosse stick is typically made of a material such as plastic or lightweight metal or composite materials. Metals can include titanium and composite materials can include graphite. The head or “crosse” is attached to the distal end of the shaft and currently consists of a basket-like structure having a plastic molded periphery to which is strung a basket made of strands of nylon, leather, or other material. In lacrosse sticks currently made, the distal edge of the plastic molded periphery is typically arcuate with the most distal point being in the middle. In other words, the distal surface of the head of the lacrosse stick is essentially convex from the proximal perspective.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has developed a set of rules governing the game of lacrosse including rules concerning the equipment to be employed. In those rules, Rule 1, sections 17 and 18 govern the dimensions of a lacrosse stick. One portion of those rules in section 17 requires the entire length of a lacrosse stick including the shaft and crosse to be of an “overall fixed length of either 40 to 42 inches (short crosse) or 52 to 72 inches (long crosse), except for the goal keeper's crosse, which shall be 40 to 72 inches long.” The important words in this rule are “fixed length.” Thus, the lacrosse stick is not permitted to have a length that is variable.
As explained above, in lacrosse sticks currently used, and typically in history, the distal edge of the head is arcuate and convex. The furthest edge is typically narrow in thickness to facilitate scooping up a lacrosse ball during play to achieve a “ground ball” pickup. However, these typical lacrosse sticks with their convex distal edges of the head are not actually optimized for that purpose. With their convex configuration, it is easily possible for the ball to slide laterally from its initial point of contact with the stick, thus causing the player to be unable to pick up the ball. A lacrosse stick head designed with more particularity concerning the concept of ground ball pickup would be advantageous.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,178 to Ulman discloses a friction and wear reducing system for lacrosse sticks which also shows the distal edge of the head with an arcuate shape designed to hug the ground and perhaps enhance ground ball pickup. However, the shape of the distal edge of the lacrosse head of Ulman is still convex leading to the same potential problems described above.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,828 to Tucker, Sr. et al. discloses a lacrosse head having a flexible stringing member and a recessed scoop. Tucker, Sr. et al. specifically show a lacrosse head in which the distal end includes a central portion that is concave, thereby more closely approximating the shape of the ball that is being scooped up by the head and therefore providing a better chance that the ball will be scooped up rather than deflected laterally. However, Tucker, Sr. et al. do not appreciate the fact that lacrosse players scoop up the ball in a variety of angular orientations of the lacrosse stick head with respect to the ground. In other words, the angulation of the distal edge of the lacrosse stick head is wildly variable from virtually parallel to the ground to sharply angled with respect thereto. This issue is not taken into account by Tucker, Sr. et al. or any other prior art known to Applicant.
As the game of lacrosse has become more and more competitive, a need has developed for a lacrosse stick that more effectively permits a player to scoop up a ground ball, gain his or her team another possession, and enhance the chances of victory. It is with these needs in mind that the present invention was developed.